Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong arrested amid Korean Corruption Scandal

February 17, 2017 – The Korean authorities have arrested the vice-chairman of Samsung Group Lee Jae-yong in connection to the infamous Korean politician scandal. This is the same scandal that took the Presidential powers from the current President of Korea, Park Geun-hye. She is the first woman President of Korea, but a major political scandal ruined her life. After months of protests, the Korean National Assembly impeached her. Now, she only has the title of the President, but once the impeachment process goes forward, Park will lose the title too and will possibly face criminal charges. This scandal has shook the Korean nation and the rest of the world too. Lee is now the latest victim of this disgraceful scandal.

Lee Jae-yong is the son of Samsung’s current Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Net worth of both the father and his son is in billions. They are one of the top 10 richest people in South Korean. Everybody sees Lee as the successor to his father’s current position as Chairman of Samsung Group. Lee has very limited public appearances; he tries to stay away from media coverage. But with this scandal, he is now all over the Korean News Media; in fact, mainstream media in all major countries is covering this news story. My guess is that Lee is not very happy with all this publicity. :)

Samsung is a huge brand; they sell products to consumers as well as other big manufacturers. In USA, the company has been granted more Patients than any other company! This alone tells you how big a company Samsung really is. With the rise in smartphones usage, the demand for phone screens went through the roof. Samsung is one of the biggest suppliers of TV and phone screens; this is why the company is making a lot more money nowadays.

But their success is being overshadowed by different controversies. For instance, Samsung’s flagship product, Galaxy Note 7, failed miserably due to a battery fault that was causing a lot of these phones to catch fire and explode. This issue was so severe that airlines had to put a ban on passengers from carrying this mobile device on flights.

Samsung hasn’t healed from the wounds it got from the Galaxy Note7 failure/debacle and now its chief is facing criminal charges in court. The company is having a really rough time. Lee is facing charges that include Bribery, not declaring assets, money, and property he has overseas, and embezzlement. Lee and the official Samsung statement is that this case has no merit and that Lee has done no wrongdoings.